March 8, 2022

Wellbeing, skills and diversity data absent from majority of FTSE 100 firms’ annual reports

by Jayne Smith • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

New analysis of FTSE 100 annual reports finds that while workforce reporting has improved in the past two years, the quantity and quality of disclosures still varies significantly and remains very poor in places. The new report, How do companies report on their ‘most important asset?, from the CIPD, the PLSA and Railpen, analysed the quality of workforce disclosures in the 2021 annual reports of FTSE 100 companies against seven key themes: Workforce cost and composition; employee relations and wellbeing; reward; voice; skills, capabilities and recruitment; and response to COVID-19. (more…)

February 28, 2022

Hybrid working means we have to make the most of our time in the office

by Dr Omar Merlo • Comment, Flexible working

The covid-19 pandemic has drastically affected every aspect of our lives, whether it be in a personal, societal, or professional sense. One of the biggest changes to come from the pandemic is the impact it has had on workplaces, and what we now know our working world to be, including the advent for the first time of widespread hybrid working. Long gone are the days of long commutes, long days in the office and set working hours. (more…)

February 21, 2022

Employee mental health not a priority for a quarter of managers, report claims

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

A new poll claims that than one fifth (21 percent) of managers based in London believe that supporting employee mental health is not a priority for their company this year. The research commissioned by the South Westminster Business Alliance with Kings College London suggests that over three quarters (78 percent) of managers admit they struggle to spot the signs of poor mental health amongst employees. (more…)

February 20, 2022

Firms will need to build bridges with employees as they adapt to hybrid working

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Workplace

As we enter a new phase of working life following the short term changes made to cope with the pandemic, the three key priorities for the 1,300 employers surveyed by the Benefits & Human Resources Consulting operation of Gallagher for its 2021/2022 State of the Sector report (registration) are: the need to re-engage their teams around purpose, strategy and values (53 percent); the need to adapt communication channels to engage the workforce better as they move to newly implemented models of hybrid working (39 percent); and the need to enhance people manager communications (31 percent). (more…)

February 15, 2022

The opportunities and challenges of new technologies for AML

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Technology

Back in 2021 the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) put out a paper on the opportunities and challenges that new technologies are bringing to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) efforts. If you are unaware of who the FATF is it may be worth your while to investigate farther into it. For now, though, let it be known that they are an independent inter-governmental body that defines the rules and procedures that need to be in place to prevent these two criminal activities. (more…)

February 15, 2022

Skills crisis intensifies as demand for white collar jobs outstrips supply

by Neil Franklin • Jobs, News

Demand for people to fill permanent and contracted white-collar jobs while the UK continues to battle a skills crisis. That’s according to the latest Recruitment Trends Snapshot report from The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). The data provided by Bullhorn, claims that demand for contractors was also up year-on-year, increasing 38 percent. Month-on-month figures also showed a spike in jobs, with permanent and contract vacancies increasing 104 percent and 78 percent between December and January, which can be attributed to a bounce back following a seasonal lull. (more…)

February 14, 2022

Record pay rises on the cards to address tough recruitment conditions

by Neil Franklin • News, Workplace

Employers anticipate offering record pay rises of 3 percent in 2022 as they look to combat increasing recruitment and retention difficulties. This is the headline finding from the CIPD’s latest quarterly Labour Market Outlook, which highlights the scale of the growing challenge facing organisations in finding and keeping staff, and how they are responding. This quarter’s pay award figure is the highest since the survey was conducted using its current methods in the winter 2012/13 report. The Labour Market Outlook surveyed more than 1,000 employers in January 2022 about their hiring, pay and redundancy intentions for the first quarter of the year. (more…)

February 7, 2022

Half of unemployed men aged 50+ out of work for at least a year

by Jayne Smith • Jobs, News, Workplace

There were nearly 200,000 men aged 50 and older out of work between September and November 2021 – an increase of 24 percent in two years – and 50 percent of them were unemployed for at least a year, according to new analysis from Rest Less, a digital community and advocate for older people. Rest Less analysed the latest labour market data from the Office of National Statistics to find that unemployed men aged 50+ are significantly more likely to be in long-term unemployment, defined as out of work for at least a year, than any other age group. (more…)

February 2, 2022

Business ethics boosted by pandemic

by Neil Franklin • Business, News

Entering the third year of a pandemic, more professionals responsible for business ethics and compliance worldwide say that their ethical culture is more potent as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest annual Ethics and Compliance Program Effectiveness Report from LRN. But, while values and ethics helped sustain companies during the pandemic, new areas of concern have emerged. And, there is a significant gap between companies with high-impact ethics and compliance (E&C) programs and those with low-impact ones. The top-ranked programs were proactive, utilised available resources, and made their programs more accessible to employees. High performing organisations also scored 27 percentage points higher than low-performing ones when it came to weathering COVID. (more…)

January 20, 2022

Lack of ‘face time’ leaving people feeling disengaged

by Neil Franklin • News, Wellbeing, Workplace

Around two thirds of professionals say they are ‘highly likely’ to leave their job this year due to a lack of face time with leaders within their organisation. Following the announcement yesterday from Government that working-from-home restrictions will be dropped, an annual employee survey from recruiter Robert Walters claims to reveal the potential damage of upholding remote leadership in 2022. Results from survey suggest a correlation between a decrease in output and morale for professionals who claim they see their manager (face-to-face) less than once a week. (more…)

January 18, 2022

How to provide a great place to work for remote workers

by Richard Guy • Company news, Flexible working

Remote working swiftly evolved from a stopgap lockdown solution into a globally successful workstyle – and it’s set to stay. According to research quoted by CityAM, “84 per cent of UK businesses plan on having a hybrid, flexible or remote workforce following the pandemic”. Some companies, like Deloitte, have placed all bets on remote in closing their offices and basing employees from home, enjoying a vast reduction in operational costs. This flexibility has offered immediate benefits for remote workers, ranging from lifestyle and financial to positive influences on wellbeing. Workers in particular social groups have experienced life-changing situations, securing work in previously inaccessible geographic locations. (more…)

January 13, 2022

Stress of pandemic has brought people closer, claims Microsoft

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology, Wellbeing

Microsoft’s new Work Trend Index Special Report, entitled “Technology Can Help Unlock a New Future for Frontline Workers”, suggests that 78 percent of frontline workers in the UK claim to feel “very bonded” to co-workers because of shared stress brought on by the pandemic and the shift to new ways of working. (more…)